Lake Eyasi

Lake Eyasi lies in a hot, dry corner of the Rift Valley south-west of the Ngorongoro Crater, beneath the long Eyasi escarpment. It is a shallow soda lake that rises in the rains and shrinks to salt flats in the dry months, when pelicans and flamingos may feed along the shore.

The area is best known for its people. The Hadzabe are among the last hunter-gatherers in Africa, living by bow hunting and by gathering roots, fruit and wild honey, and speaking a language with click sounds. Joining a Hadzabe group for a morning's hunt through the bush gives an insight into a very old way of life. Nearby, Datoga families herd cattle and work as blacksmiths, making arrowheads and jewellery from recycled metal.

Around the lake, onion fields and groves of acacia and baobab line the tracks, and walks along the shore or up the escarpment give wide views over the valley.

Eyasi is about an hour and a half's drive from Karatu. We combine it with the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire on our four-day Eyasi and Hadzabe safari, and it is the starting point of our trek across the Crater Highlands to Ol Doinyo Lengai.